Chuck
by Macharius
Summary: A one off, and an experiment in a different writing style. Chuck tells the tale of Charles Habegger, and his encounter with Paxton Fettel.


A one off project.

Disclaimer; I do not own F.E.A.R. or the characters mentioned herein. If I did, I would be awesome.  
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F.E.A.R. Chuck

_"It is the way of men to create monsters...and it is the way of monsters to destroy their makers," Harlan Wade._

_Why did you bring me here?_

_*_

_"Give him back!"_

_"Restrain her Harlan! Stop her,"_

_"No! Give me back my baby!"_

_"Harlan!"_

_"Where are you taking him, nooo!"_

Charles Habegger bolted upright in his bed breathing heavily, his bony frame slick with a cold sweat, cold clammy hands wiped the sweat off his brow. His wife stirred in the covers beside him and expelled a hushed groan.

Charles gave her a quick glance and then darted from his bed to the bathroom attached to his room. He ran the water and stared into his own reflection, in the darkness it was tinged red.

He shuddered and splashed water over his face. He shot a look at the mirror again; he was unshaven and his eyes were dark, he wasn't sleeping since he started experiencing the same reoccurring nightmare.

**I know who you are.**

A dark shadow lurked behind Charles' reflection; he craned his neck to see, as he did a car passed by the window, its headlights illuminating the room behind Charles.

A young girl stood there, clad in a red ragged dress and barefooted. The light faded as the car passed on, the girl disappeared.

Charles closed his eyes.

"Whats happening to me?"

In the next room his wife groaned again. Charles rejoined her, and he embraced her as she rolled into him. He knew he wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight.

*  
_I've tried to forget. I've tried so hard to forget._

Charles Habegger yawned and opened the door of his car. He slammed it shut behind him and stumbled toward the car park exit. Wiping the crumbs of his shirt from his late morning breakfast, he entered the employee entrance to Armacham with a casual flick of his pass.

An ATC (Armacham Technology Corporation) guard gave him a cold stare as he entered before snorting loudly and spitting on the ground. Charles gave him a curt nod and turned away from him. Vanek's men were all cold blooded assholes.

But they were a pain in Genevieve Aristide's ass, and he loved them for that reason.

Charles grabbed a coffee from the dispenser and collapsed into his chair at his workspace. He took a sip of the bitter liquid and smacked his lips.

He spent a few minutes flicking through some reports about the Harbinger program, it seemed like the tree frogs were performing better than the ladybugs at the moment; Harlan would be interested in that.

Almost on a cue, his phone rang. Charles juggled the report and coffee to one hand while he grabbed the phone with his other.

"Chuck here," he answered.

"I've had it up to here with this Bitch."

And that was Harlan Wade.

"What's our dear president Genevieve doing now Harlan?"

"Origin. Fucking Origin. You know she reopened the vault last week right? Well she's continuing Perseus despite the goddamned risks!"

Charles glanced around the office workspace and cupped his hand over the receiver.

"The team in the vault…they're all dead, she knows the goddamned risks."

"Won't stop her, not with the board of directors tightening her leash, but I can't believe she'd go that far..."

"Tell me about it…the ass Fuck of the century is coming, and we ain't ready."

"We have to stop it Harlan… Another synchronicity event, at this age…"

"They have Fettel locked up in the Perseus compound since Monday…Fuck lotta good that will do if _she _finds him…."

"She's dead Harlan. She's been dead for twenty years..."

"Snap out of it Chuck, she's a monster...WE made her a monster, a mistake, Origin is all a mistake, I can't believe you talked me into that…I'll never forgive you for that."

Charles clucked his tongue and leaned back in his seat.

"I'll head over to Perseus and try to step up the security. You keep Genevieve busy…I'm tired of her blowing smoke up my ass, and tell her to listen to some expert advice when it's given."

"I can't make promises Chuck; I stopped that when I sealed my little girl away forty years ago."

"Harlan..."

"Forget it Chuck... Just... get it done."

*

_You were born here, in this place. I was there._

Charles drove his small two-seater car as fast as the speed limit would allow him through Fairport, the abandoned nuclear reactors of still Island blotted out the morning sun from reaching him. A large tanker pulled into the same lane as him as he crossed the bridge into the Auburn district.

Charles cursed and pressed down hard on the steering wheel. The driver of the tanker flipped him the bird and pulled into a separate lane.

Charles thanked god and speeded up, desperate to reach the compound in time. Leering in the distance was the Valkyrie tower, the private residence of Genevieve Aristide... The building was one of the biggest and most sickening in Fairport.

Once he crossed the bridge he felt he noise tickle, he ran an inquisitive finger under his nose and examined it; blood.

That meant he was passing the vault. It used to only be slight nausea when you crossed into Auburn, but nosebleeds?

Bill Moody was going to have a field day if he was in Auburn today.

*

_Why did you bring me back?_

Charles parked his car in a quiet alley away from the public eye and made his way to the obscured entrance to the Perseus compound. He scanned around as he entered in the code. Satisfied he opened the fake wall and called the elevator.

It chugged up to him quickly and nosily which made him wince.

**I know what you've done.**

Inside the elevator as it ascended was the girl from Charles' nightmare. She stared at him, with her eyes full of hatred, and as the doors opened, she was gone.

Her chilling voice echoed in Charles' head. He shook it away; it was just a hallucination from a lack of sleep. Nothing unusual at all…

Breathing deep, Charles entered the elevator and pressed the button. As the elevator descended his cell phone rang, he answered it quickly.

"Yeah…"

"Chuck, its Harlan. Get the hell out of…"

"Harlan? Harlan?"

Charles checked the phone. He was out of reception from being so far underground.

"Son of a Bitch," he spat.

The elevator suddenly came to halt, far quicker than he had expected, and the gate opened onto a scene from a nightmare. Perseus staffers, gunned down in cold blood.

Who would do that?

It couldn't be Vanek's men... which meant...

"Mr. Habegger."

Chuck's blood ran cold.

He slowly turned and caught a fleeting glimpse of a rifle being smashed into his ribs. He fell and spewed his breakfast on the ground. Standing over him was Paxton Fettel, who was flanked by two menacing Replica soldiers.

"I do apologise for the rough and tumble...but," Fettel smiled, showing blood stained teeth. "I'm sure you know why."

Chuck didn't reply, his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Let's go somewhere more... Picturesque, hmmm?"

*

"Why did you bring me here?"

Paxton slowly circled Chuck, who was strapped to a chair in a small, dilapidated room. Paxton faced Chuck and simply said,

"I thought it would...remind you of something I need to know."

"Why did you bring me back?"

Paxton smiled again.

"Does the guilt get to you? Do you know what you did here?"

"You were born here, in this place...I was there."

"You destroyed her childhood and stole her children."

"I've tried to forget...I've tried so hard to forget."

"Where is Alma, where is my mother?"

"I don't know," Lied Chuck. Behind Fettel he caught a glimpse of the young girl again.

**_Liar_**

As if on some unseen command, the Replica escort left the room.

"My dear Charles...some secrets are buried deeper than others, and I know just where to dig..."

Chuck's eyes widened in terror as he realised what Fettel was about to do. He struggled against the chains holding him and only accomplished flaying his wrists. He yelled out for help as Paxton brushed just past his ear.

"Hush now mr. Habegger, the time for talk is over."

Chuck screamed and the young girl giggled with delight, before she skipped away leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

Habegger's blood.

_*_

_The man's name was... Charles Habegger. I remember him ...but are the memories mine, or hers? It makes no difference, he deserved to die. They ALL deserve to die._


End file.
